Battle Hopper

Kamen Rider BLACK

, translated as Masked Rider BLACK, is a tokusatsusuperhero television series. It is the eighth installment in the famous Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It is a joint collaboration between Ishinomori Productions and Toei, and aired on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and the Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 4, 1987 to October 9, 1988, with a total of 51 episodes. With its very dramatic storyline and its twist of the Kamen Rider having a tragic relationship with his arch-nemesis, the installment not only became very popular in Japan, but also in the several other countries where it was aired. The series is often regarded as a classic and is considered by many as the best Kamen Rider show of the late 80's. Kamen Rider BLACK RX was a direct sequel to this series. A manga novelization of the series is entitled .

Plot summary

After being kidnapped by the cult Gorgom in the night of their 19th birthday, step-brothers Kotaro Minami and Nobuhiko Akizuki were submitted to a cyborg surgery with the purpose of becoming the candidates for the next Gorgom's Century King. Kotaro escaped before the brainwashing, with help from his foster father, and turned against Gorgom. He soon finds out the horrific truth from his step-father: Gorgom originally killed his true parents and, since both Kotaro and Nobuhiko were born on the day of a solar eclipse, referred as "Black Sun" and "Shadow Moon". Kotaro, taking on the name of Kamen Rider BLACK, was determined to rescue his step-brother from Gorgom while protecting Japan. However, later in the series, Nobuhiko emerged as Shadow Moon to fight Kotaro with the survivor becoming the next Century King.

Characters

Main

- The hero of this series. Became a cyborg after the Gorgom captured him and his step-brother Nobuhiko. Using the power of the Kingstone, he shouts "Henshin" and poses to become the mighty Kamen Rider BLACK. He is referred by Gorgom as "Black Sun".

Allies

Nobuhiko's little sister

Nobuhiko's girlfriend

The creator of the Road Sector

A Special Agent from America, he helps Kotaro in a few episodes.

Kotaro's senior at the university, owns a shop where Kyoko works part-time.

Kotaro's step-brother and archenemy. As Shadow Moon, he wears silver and black insect armor and carries the Satan Saber.

Rider Machines

Introduced in episode 1, The Battle Hopper is a living motorcycle created by Gorgom, made specifically for the upcoming Creation Kings Black Sun and Shadow Moon. The Battle Hopper has the ability to heal its own wounds if damaged, and can stand on its own if knocked over.

Battle Hopper can travel at the maximum speed of 500 kilometers per hour with his engine. His special move is the Dynamic Smash, a body slam attack that is executed at full speed.

Before the finale, Battle Hopper was later stolen by Shadow Moon and dies in the final episode, but would later resurrect as Acrobatter, in the sequel series Kamen Rider BLACK RX.
Introduced in episode 12, the Road Sector is a motorcycle created by Yoichi Daimon for Gorgom. The Road Sector is a prototype made with the intention of making it a mass-produced vehicle for their mutant soldiers, but instead it became Kamen Rider BLACK's second Rider Machine (the first being Battle Hopper).

The Road Sector has a special function called the Attack Shield that shields the rider from harm. In this mode, the Road Sector can perform its special ramming maneuver, the Sparkling Attack.

The Road Sector can travel at the speed of 960 kilometers per hour with its engine. The Attack Shield is activated at the speed of 800 kilometers per hour, which enables the Road Sector to reach the maximum speed of 960 kilometers per hour to perform the Sparkling Attack.

List of episodes

Other appearances

TV specials

*1987: It was aired one week before the first episode, introduces the character Kamen Rider BLACK.

Children all over Tokyo mysteriously disappear without warning. Kotaro suspects that the Gorgom are behind the abductions and follows a suspicious-looking tour bus with children on it, only to lose its trail off a cliff. With the help of a fisherman, Kotaro travels to a remote island and uses his abilities as Kamen Rider BLACK to save the children and foil Gorgom's latest evil scheme.

The city of Youbari in the Hokkaido prefecture has become a ghost town following the presence of Shadow Moon and his minions of Gorgom. Makino, a scientist working on Gorgom's top-secret robot experiment, escapes from the evil organization and returns to Tokyo, only to find out that his wife and daughter have been abducted. As Kamen Rider BLACK, Kotaro travels to Yubari to save Makino's family and liberate the town from Shadow Moon's evil grasp.

Kamen Rider BLACK appears as the main character of the 1988 storyline in this crossover game. Lead to an old Shocker hideout believing it to be Gorgom, Kotaro is forced to fight various kaijin and Gelshocker soldiers, only to learn the game's true villain is after the Kingstone inside of him. Eventually, Kamen Rider 1, Kamen Rider V3 and Kamen Rider Agito travel to 1988 to assist him in the game's final battle. Tetsuo Kurata returns to voice the character. Shadowmoon makes a brief cameo as a nonplayable character as well.